8/28/2012

My daughter has been sick for two weeks now. We took her to see the doctor after a few days when she first started and the doctor said she had a cold. My poor baby continued to cough her brains out, so I called the next week to say that she had only gotten worse, and they called in a prescription for her. They prescribed baby steroids to help with the inflammation. What the heck? Two days after that my baby coughed so hard she spit up a little dot of blood. I took her in right away and told them I wanted a test for pertussis. They gave her the test, but assured me she did not have it since she's had no fever, and her lungs and throat were clear. They told me it was an ear infection and she was put on antibiotics for that. Five days later and she's done with her antibiotic and still coughing like crazy. I found out this afternoon the test was positive. She does have whooping cough. Sigh.

I'm not mad at the doctor. Whooping cough is hard to diagnose, and with no fever or problems with the lungs or throat, it seemed silly to run a test until her cough got more intense. Not only that, but she coughs maybe three big coughs a day (around mealtimes), and in between coughing she acts absolutely normal. It's just frustrating and I feel bad for my baby.

I've kept my baby out of the nursery and warned friends and family that have come over, but all this time I have told everyone that the doctor said it was just a cold and not to worry. Now I've exposed all my family and most of my friends to pertussis. Argh.

Let the quarantine begin.

Have to show this little sash in the back of the top - adds just a little more definition to the waist, which I love.

8/26/2012

I guess short season continues. It was so cool for most of the week, and then got really hot again this weekend.

I wore this for a family dinner party at our house. It is very comfortable to wear, probably because of how voluminous it is. See that big bunch of loose fabric right around my middle? It was a very inviting empty space that I happily obliged by filling it up with cheeseburgers and rhubarb cobbler. And guess what? There is still plenty of room. Now for some ice cream.

8/24/2012

This dress was pretty easy to alter. This fabric felt like a stiff chiffon and was surprisingly very easy to work with. I decided to do an asymmetrical hem to follow the line of the empire waist which scoops low in the back. My big mistake was that I didn't measure the hem length while wearing the dress. I just eyeballed it. The front of this dress came out quite a bit shorter than I had hoped.

After hemming both layers, I cut off the arms and stitched the edges under to leave a clean seam in front.

I LOVE the way the back of this dress turned out! So fun and flirty!

I think the asymmetrical hem brings this dress totally up to date, but the dress is still completely one of a kind!

I love having this dress in my vintage collection and my husband thinks it's great. Now to find an event to wear this to!

8/23/2012

I wore this yesterday when it all of the sudden occurred to me that we were only a couple of weeks away from Labor Day. Immediately the old fashion rule that says, "You cannot wear white after Labor Day" popped into my head. There are always exceptions to every fashion rule, and fashion rules hardly exist anymore, but it inspired me to pull out my white jeans. What I wasn't thinking, however, was that wearing white jeans on a playdate to the park wasn't the most genius idea. At least I had enough forethought to switch out of my platform espadrilles and into some flip flops before I walked the half mile there and back. Sometimes I'm just not even in the running to win that medal for "World's Most Practical Mother." One day I'll at least remember to keep my diaper bag stocked, and at that point avoiding white at a park will become second nature to me.

8/22/2012

Remember this dress? So all I did was cut the netting off around the edges of the scalloped lace to shorten it (took forever), and then hemmed the lining underneath. I had to cut out the tulle underneath because it was getting too old and didn't lay properly. I really tried to save the tulle!!

I'm so glad I didn't have to cut the sleeves off or mess with the neckline or bodice, I thought it was just perfect as is!

I also took the bow off the waist and had to belt it because the waist doesn't fit me properly.

I tried it without the belt, and it just bunches up in an unflattering way.

Maybe this picture gives a better picture of why it needed the belt.

If I stand up real tall and stretch my torso out, then it looks ok without the belt, but I prefer anchoring the sweetness of the dress with the belt.

So what do you think? Is this vintage dress modern enough to pull off for a wedding or other special event? Or even church on Sunday? ﻿

8/21/2012

I haven't worn these orange jeans since Italy. Since I wore them for four days straight on the trip, I haven't wanted to pull them out since.

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You've seen this outfit on here already - I just switched out the white jeans for orange. I wore this to teach Children's Church for the 4 & 5 year olds at church Sunday. Seemed like a practical, comfortable option for controlling rambuctious children. It ended up working well, so I'm glad I picked it!

8/20/2012

My Mom found this curling hair tutorial and I was immediately inspired! My sister and I both tried it out for church on Sunday and loved the results. You should try it out if you like to curl your hair and let me know if it worked for you!

8/19/2012

I'm guessing this dress is an early 70's dress since the cut of it is so close to what my Mom wore for her 1970's wedding. She was married in 1978, but I'm guessing this dress was from a few years before that, only because this looks even more antiquated than my mother's wedding gown. But who knows! I've already started work on it and can't wait to show you the finished product!

This dress has crinoline underneath (lots of tulle). Unfortunately, I think I'm going to have to do away with it because it adds too much bulk right at the hips. If the skirt was A-line I would keep it and show it off some, but the skirt is so bell shaped, I think I'm going to have to get rid of it. I picture this as a late 60's dress, since it looks closer to the straight evening gowns you would see on Jackie O. But again, I'm no expert.

8/17/2012

Dotted blouse tucked into a full, knee-length skirt with bowed ballet flats, a sophisticated strand of beads, and teased hair? Yes, I know. I feel a bit 1958 here. What's the fun in dressing if you can't get a little costumey every now and again?

8/15/2012

Today and tomorrow may be our last truly summer days of the season. The weather report says it will be in the low 70's starting Friday. I would love Fall more if it didn't mean that Winter was right around the corner.

8/14/2012

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If you check out the "eShakti" label on my sidebar, you can read my reviews of eShakti.

8/13/2012

Click on the picture to see where the boot is from and how much it costs.

These below are my favorites.

I got it in my head that I'd like a pair of black, flat ankle boots. Something just shy of a Harley Davidson boot. My inspiration is from Irene over at Irene's Closet. This just looks like a great alternative to a walking shoe for the fall/winter.

8/10/2012

My work week is now over. I got the project done yesterday afternoon so I got today off and I'm back to being a stay at home mom.

Today I volunteered to work a booth at the fair for a few hours and then I went shopping with a friend. This was my shopping outfit.

I bought this leather jacket in Florence, Italy. It was in one of the stores in the Santa Croce Market. A tourist trap that I gladly bought into. It was my one splurge of the trip, and I love it. Today was the first day this summer that it's been cool enough outside to wear it.

8/09/2012

The office dress code requires sleeves and collars. Women can wear a collarless shirt or dress so long as a collared jacket is worn over it. This stone blazer was the perfect solution for adding collars and sleeves--lightweight and perfect for summer's A/C.